equality in grace, obedience, mutual help, long-suffering befitting those who have one God, one Lord and Father of all, one faith, and one law for all their doing.
When all are one, the things of God belong to all; otherwise they could not be one, dividing the things which are of God, usurping to themselves special divine rights, and elevating themselves at the expense of others, in violence.
Such a unity we are given in Christ’s faith, for our conduct. Anything that deviates from that faith is sin. The above-mentioned hordes, who distinguish themselves from one another by peculiar laws and pagan administration, are not included in Christ’s prayer, not one of them, because they are not united with him in his spirit and in his law.
To be sure, the wicked men have entered into all kinds of unions, but Christ’s disciples cannot be in them, since these unions cannot bear comparison with the law of Christ, which is based on true honest goodness and in which the people of God are ruled by the truth of his word, in faith and in grace, like the household of one husbandman, standing in true obedience before God aside from whom there is no other lord. There can be no greater unfaithfulness to the rule of God than the division and sundering caused by these factions and their arrogation to themselves of laws apart from His law. The law of God will not assent to their conflicting peculiarities; indeed, every horde tries to draw God down to itself, desiring to have its distinctive peculiarities sanctioned by the law of God. God can sanction only those things that grow out of His law; he cannot approve of anything that grows out of foreign roots. And there is only one law of God, perfect in itself, and so good that all can confirm themselves in it, that they “may become perfectly one” in Christ. This law will bring about an equality of all, they shall love one another as they love themselves, they shall carry each other’s burden, and each shall do to others as he wishes that they would do to him.[323]
This commandment could make one multitude out of a thousand worlds – one heart and one soul! There can be no better administration for mankind sojourning in this world; it will lead man into the fullest life, it will make man most precious to God, and man will become a gain to man. Who becomes acquainted with the law of God cannot create nor recognize nor obey any other law, for no other law is right. If there is one right law descended from God, any other law must in fact be contrary. And the contrariness of human laws is made manifest to the law of God by creating multiform hordes under one “faith” (coupled) with superstitions and with the art of differentiation and specialization, with dissensions, with iniquitous thoughts which increase like tares springing up from bad seeds,[324] tarnishing the whole crop. But the law of God is untarnished and enlightening souls.[325] It is so effective and perfect that – no matter what tarnish and sins it finds on men – if men attach themselves to it, believing, it will cleanse them from all sins,[326] maintain them in innocence, and keep them from being overcome by temptations. It can improve or do away with whatever dissenting heretical hordes it finds, that is, he will join them into one people, one faith, one interpretation of the faith, one love, and one hope, if they will only believe the divine law. It will do this to fulfill the things for which our Lord prayed, “that they may be one as we are,” as the Father and the Son are one.
The divine law is able to convert a sinful man to God, and to cleanse him from his sins; only the will of God can do this, not human statutes. Man can excel in perfection in accordance with human statutes, but if they have no goodness expected of God in fulfillment of His law, they count for nothing and remain
